The Holy Colodian Empire
The Holy Colodian Empire '''(''Styrolian: Heileges Colodischen Reich; Verantine: Sancrum Colodium Imperium) ''was a complex of territories existing in central to eastern Osparia that was formed in the Sanctroium Imperii era. Of these territories, the largest was the Kingdom of Styrolia making up more than half of the empire's total land mass. By 1127 onward, the empire had become a influential power in Osparia, coming to even challenge that of the Theosissian Church. The Empire reached it's height in 1526, encompassing the territories of the Kingdom of Arleon, the Kingdom of Colodia, the Kingdom of Srantivor, and the Kingdom of Amassioss. Note: Not to be confused with the 'Colodian Empire' 'which refers to the political entity existing from 0AA to 742AA. After the Proclamation of Avantium in 1114, Grand Divine Victorian V had issued the formation of the empire with himself as it's head of state. However, the secular nobles of Styrolia did not approve of the religious encroachment on their power and so rebelled in 1118. The result was the crowning of Louis I of Badenmarkt as Emperor of Styrolia and the King of Colodia. The latter claim had sparked a series of wars with the Aurelianite Empire to the south which had claimed direct succession to the Colodian Empire.The crowning of Louis I is generally regarded as the true beginning of the empire and from there evolved several institutions which would become the Holy Colodian government. By the time of Louis II's death in 1157, the empire was in gradual decline. There had been a failure to truly unite the Styrolian territories and infighting was still common, despite imperial edicts disallowing internal conflicts. Disputes over land remained unaddressed and the Imperial Throne had done little to directly mediate between the belligerents. The Church had attempted to step in but doing so had only seemed to make matters worse. With each passing day it seemed as though more and more territories were slipping from imperial grasp. Louis II's successor, Karl I had the benefit of inheriting a country which much potential. It had a large reserve of manpower and had recently uncovered extensive gold deposits. With both resources, Karl had everything he needed to supply and finance a war to reign in the wavering imperial territories. With ecclesiastical sanction, Karl marched forth to bring order by the sword. However, an Aurelianite invasion force landing in Colodia forced him to turn back, potentially exposing the northern borders of the empire. In lieu of force, he attempted diplomacy. Once the Aurelianite threat had been dealt with, an assembly would be set up to mediate between groups and settle boundary disputes. Grudgingly, the proposal was accepted and soon a united Styrolian force marched into Colodia to repel the invaders. Karl had also used this liberation to expand his powerbase in Colodia, bringing several key cities within the empire's borders as he moved further south. With a great deal of the Colodian peninsula now under his influence, Karl was hailed as the true successor of the Colodian Empire. However his death in 1163 due to being crushed by his horse left the empire in crisis as he had died without an heir. With no clear line of successions it was incredibly likely that civil war would erupt. The ''Reichshofgericht (a regency council comprised of the 7 Grand Duchies of the empire) had managed to avert crisis with the Lessinger Decree in 1164. The decree created the Electoral Collage (das Electorishcenkollegen) ''and thereby instituted an electoral monarchy. The electorate would be made up of the 7 Grand Duchies, with the other leaders of the imperial territories having votes but these votes were advisory rather than legally binding. The Second Lessinger Decree in 1175 extended these voting rights to imperial knights but again these votes were only advisory. The Empire continued to be a powerful political entity up until 1921 with its dissolution following the abdication of the last Lutheritz emperor after the Stannenbourg Revolution. History '''The Proclamation of Avantium ' After the collapse of the Northern Colodian Imperium in 742 with the fall of the last Imperial Seat of Tricerianople, the title of Emperor had since left Osparia, and seemingly for good. In the wake of the fallen empire, rump states dotted the geopolitical landscape of Osparia and petty kingdoms rose from the ashes and fought over the charred remains of the empire. Many initially sought to reform the empire but as time went on the 'Colodian Dream' faded into obscurity The Colodian peninsula was under the control of the so-called 'barbarian kings' (though many had adopted the culture and institutions of the empire the term persisted). Avantium had however remained a dominant city in the peninsula and increasingly under the influence of the Theosissian Church until the city was ceded to them in 851 by King Agostinios the Pious. With no dominant power to bring unity to the continent war was commonplace and disorder reigned. The Church did what it could to preserve peace, but the fall of the empire also meant the fall of the "Colodium Institutii" ("Colodian Institutions"- these being the Emperor, the Church, and the Legion). Secular rulers had rose up in this era of cultural darkness and church authority went largely denied. However by the 12th century, the Theosissian Church had managed to spread its influence across the Colodian peninsula and into regions of south Styrolia. The rebirth of The Theosissian Faith had been promulgated by key philosophers such as Alexander of Mysoss, Carlos of Anderas, and Bishop Ocatvian of Verantispucci. There had also been a growing turn to religion as a reaction to the almost-constant state of war, though this had become less of an issue in the peninsula by the 12th century due to the Treaty of Tricey which had created several city-state leagues and acted to form power blocs and therefore deter aggression. The treaty had also banished the title of King from the peninsula as it was felt the title could be used to make a claim on Colodia as a whole. The latter provision had mattered rather little given that many of the city-states were republics led by assemblies or elected heads of state, leaving little room for powerful monarchies to develop. South Styrolia however was a different story. Though they had returned to The Faith, they still seemed inclined to push boundary disputes, usually to the point of war. With no real central authority being present in the region- Avantium was perceived as being beyond their reach and vice-versa- there was little mediation between these petty states. The source of these contentions had predominantly been the Rhenium, a river which acted as a gateway to the Cornelian Sea and therefore was a key trade route. On more than one occasion the Colodians, with the intention of bringing peace to south Styrolia so as to prevent the conflicts from spilling into their borders, had blockaded the Rhenium in an effort to force a ceasefire. But this served only to escalate conflicts as resources which had been denied through the blockades were instead acquired through the pillaging of neighbouring states. In 1103, Grand Divine Victorian V was elected as head of the Church. Being from Vernatrani, a region in northern Colodia which bordered the Rhenium, he had felt the effects of the constant warring and was determined to bring it to the end. He also saw an opportunity for the Church to expand its influence and gain control of the Rhenium itself. However, he knew that the Styrolians would not accept a compromise that would preserve the current geopolitical status-quo. Just like what had happened in Colodia, a power bloc needed to be formed so as to bring some sense of order to the region. In 1100, south Styrolia could effectively be separated into 3 different groups: the Batavicans, settlers from the west who had settled around the time the empire fell; the Tetractions, the natives of the south-west regions; and the Lucanians, a mixture of Democlatian mercenaries and Saxovian natives of the south-east regions. Several factions existed within these groups, each one with a general goal to unite their respective peoples. It would be through these factions that Victorian would gain control of the south. Of the Batavicans, the Duchy of Genterheim had the most potential to expand. Their position meant that their southern borders were protected by the Achassian Alps and they had a strong supply of iron and wood. Furthermore, the Duchess, Sofia von Lieberschnaff, was a pious woman who had commissioned the building of a great many churches in her possessions. It would be through her that Victorian would acquire the means of establishing a permanent centre of influence in southern Styrolia and so aid in the dissipation of the apathy created by the distance from Avantium. Sofia had been more than happy to accept the papal legate which had arrived with a generous 'donation' to the "good and heavenly work of the Duchess". The true purpose of the papal legate, though went unsaid, was understood by both Sofia and her court. It was clear to them that they had the Churches support. When and where this fact could be pressed it was done so, with 2 duchies and 3 town-states pledging their allegiance to the Duchess and through her to the Grand Divine. The rest of the Batavicans were more reluctant to just hand themselves over to the Church but were eventually forced to once the new Ecclesiastic Duchy of Batavia had been formed (under the careful guidance of Victorian himself). Of the Tectractions, few shared the same degree of piety, at least those whom of which were in power. They were however skilled warriors, though constant infighting had meant that this trait could not be truly harnessed. Victorian had played on their pride by commissioning the creation of a Papal Legion which would be under his own command. In recognition of their skill, Victorian extended an offer to the Tectratic leaders giving them special privileges when serving in the Papal Legion, specifically acting as an elite branch of the Papal Guard. "With such noble and holy honours bestowed upon you and your peoples," the communique went", your acceptance would bring peace, prosperity, and a place on the right hand of our Most Benevolent Goddess." For many this seemed like an opportunity that could not be passed up and so they flocked in their thousands to sign up to this new legion. Seemingly overnight, Victorian had established a heavy military presence, using this force to coerce the rest of the Tectratic peoples, he had gained a large degree of control over the Tectratic peoples and an army with which to spread the Church's influence by sword should the need arise. The Lucanians were somewhat the hardest to convince. Their Democlatian roots had led to a greater proportion of the population following the Saphirian denomination of the Catherian faith. Whilst Saphirianism acknowledged the Grand Divine as the head of the faith, the doctrine claimed that his role in regards to the state was to act as a spiritual advisor rather than being above kings. The principle of state sovereignty over religious sovereignty had been a concept long held by the Democlatians and now it had become rooted in south-east Styrolia. By 1105, Victorian had fully consolidated his influence over the Batavians, represented by the Duchy of Batavia, and the Tectractions, represented by smaller, easy to manage states under the ownership of papal-appointed Knights of the Red Shroud. The Lucanians however posed a problem for him. They controlled the Rhenium's delta which opened out into the Cornelian sea and therefore had the potential to cause great damage to the region should they wish to indirectly challenge papal influence. However, the landscape meant that it was not possible to completely fortify it, therefore providing a potential opening should it come to war. There was also another potentially exploitative weakness. For years the Lucanian duchies had been under the influence of several monastic orders, many originating from Democlatia. In 1089 there had been a growing Saxovian traditionalist movement which sought to reassert the Saxovian cultural dominance. The monastic orders had relied on Democlatianised societies to keep power as their influence relied upon Saphirian doctrine. The leader of the movement was Manheim von Serivia, a knight of the Order of St Vincetio, one of the few provincial monastic orders to have received papal sanction. His lands were bountiful but were eclipsed by the estates of Kikatoi (the Democlatian mercenaries who had settled in the region), leaving him with a weakened position. In truth his position was maintained through his membership of the Order of St Vincetio. It would be through him that Victorian would bring the Saxovia region under the Church's wing. Victorian arranged for the Church to secretly supply the movement with money, weapons, armour, and food. The Order was also permitted by papal sanction to bear arms, thus officiating it as a military monastic order. With papal support, the movement was able to expand into surrounding provinces, decrying Saphirianism, promoting the Saxovian culture, and leading raids on the "heretic" orders. The Kikatoi responded with the mustering of armies and the looting of Saxovian-dominated towns, villages, and chapels. The looting of Trevana signalled the outbreak of war between the Saxovians and the Kikatoi. In 1108, the last Kikatoi stronghold at Varden was taken and decrees were issued across the region banishing the Kikatoi. The fall of the Lucanian identity saw the rise of the Saxovian one, one which was more compliant to papal wishes. Whilst Saphirianism still lingered in Saxovia, its influence had effectively been halved, with the Order of St Vincetio acting as the harsh enforcers of Theosissianism. With north Colodia and south Styrolia largely under papal control, Victorian had acquired sufficient possessions to make his next move. The Treaty of Succession in 746 had decreed that only the Grand Divine can proclaim a successor to the Colodian Empire.